An aerial photo shows a tail section of AirAsia flight QZ8501 on the deck of a Crest Onyx ship on January 11, 2015. Photo: AFP/Zulkarnain
Some fishermen from South Borneo played a huge part in locating the wreckage of AirAsia QZ8501 flight that went missing on December 28, 2014. After all, they gave authorities a major lead in determining that the plane crashed in the Kalimata Strait off the coast of Pangkalan Bun, South Borneo.
So when the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) gave out awards at a ceremony to thank several organizations for their support in retreiving the fallen airplane, Vice President Jusuf “JK” Kalla was not impressed that Basarnas did not even mention the fishermen.
“I congratulate all the organizations that received an award. But, there was one important group that was not included: the fishermen,” JK said at the Basarnas Headquarters today, as quoted by Kompas.
JK said the fishermen helped authorities with the biggest lead regarding QZ8501’s location.
“The fishermen gave really important information from Borneo and Sulawesi,” he said.
Even if the Basarnas did not recognize the fishermen at the awards ceremony, it’s not like the fishermen were completely forgotten. The three from Pangkalan Bun, Rahmat (46), Darso (38) and Pendi (53), were rewarded with a fishing vessel and a TV set among other things by their local government.
